


Detective Work

by Lannakitty



Category: Castle, Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Angst, Crossover, F/F, Subtext
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-10
Updated: 2011-05-10
Packaged: 2017-10-19 19:15:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/204307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lannakitty/pseuds/Lannakitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castle and Beckett run afoul of some rather strange types</p>
            </blockquote>





	Detective Work

**Author's Note:**

> Written also for the [](http://sfaflashfic.livejournal.com/profile)[**sfaflashfic**](http://sfaflashfic.livejournal.com/) challenge "Crossovers"
> 
>  **[](http://racethewind10.livejournal.com/profile)[**racethewind10**](http://racethewind10.livejournal.com/) THIS IS FOR YOU**

Being a homicide detective had taken Kate Beckett to many strange places, but perhaps none so strange as this one. She'd been hurried into a gothic cathedral, had caught a glimpse of stately marble floors, carved wood and fine art, before being hustled into a dubious-looking elevator. Several surprising floors down, there had been a very large open area with computer equipment on a lone table before her hosts had led her around a corner, down a hall, and finally into a well-kept infirmary. It occurred to her that this was the strangest hospital she'd ever been to, and she didn't remember the car ride.

Adrenaline from the firefight had begun to wear off then. Or maybe she allowed herself to let go now that medical attention was at hand. The wound in her side burned even though she felt cold. She'd been assured this was a hospital of some kind. She could hear Castle discussing something with the Ex-Fed in strained voices. Her vision was growing darker and a very fuzzy man was grunting at her, a pale-skinned woman at his side.

"Detective, Beckett? I'm Dr. Helen Magnus. You're going to be fine."

Kate hoped so. She had things to-

* * *

Kate woke with a jerk, the muzzy feeling of drugs was fading and her mouth was dry.

"Welcome back detective," a gentle, accented voice said from her left.

Kate looked over, wincing as she moved too quickly and the stitches in her side pulled. Castle was sprawled out on another infirmary bed, exhausted. Seeing him, Kate relaxed a little.

"My team brought you and your associate to my home. I believe they mentioned it to you when you met? I've treated your injuries," she said standing. "I expect you'll be sore for awhile but will make a full recovery." The woman handed her a glass of water and a straw.

"Thank you, Dr-?" Kate said when she could finally speak. "I'm sorry I passed out on you."

"Dr. Helen Magnus, and you held up surprisingly well considering your injury." Magnus gave her a smile. "You're quite welcome." She wore scrubs but sat with a stately elegance that didn't quite fit her working apparel. Her eyes were a striking blue that seemed old somehow, for all the other woman couldn't have been more than a few years older than Kate, ten at the outset.

Kate leaned back and looked around before returning her attention to Magnus. "What happened?"

Magnus' lip quirked into a small smirk. "You ran into a Heppelopterus Balyconix. They're illegally imported for their pelts and unique digestion, and have a habit of spitting high-speed projectiles when they're upset. You took three hits from the one Mr. Dale was smuggling when it was startled."

Kate frowned. She'd not heard any gunshots, but she'd assumed her would-be assassin had used a silencer. "I was spit on?"

Magnus nodded and stood. She picked up a tablet computer from a side table. Her hands were strong and elegant. Kate watched her access the machine, bringing up something on the screen.

"Here we are. Video footage of our Balyconix. I'm afraid the poor thing was still a little rattled when we filmed this." She held up the computer for Kate to see.

On screen, was...well, Kate wasn't sure what it was. She'd only seen it briefly before everything had gone sideways. She'd thought it was a throw pillow. It was fuzzy and a very dark, striking blue. It was teardrop shaped and had more legs than Kate liked to see on a creature, fuzzy like a bumble bee, and had luminous yellow eyes on the blunt end Kate took to be the head. It skittered around in a small enclosure, making little barking noises and fluffing it's fur. It was kinda cute in a grotesque sort of way.

The door on one side of the enclosure shifted and the Balyconix whirled around, increasing in size as it puffed itself up. A dark and hairy hand stuck a bowl inside then quickly closed the door again. The Balyconix suddenly seized, it's whole body shaking as it deflated. There were three rapid fire coughs, each followed by the sound of something hard striking metal. There were two dents in the little door and one hole. The video stopped as there were exclamations from off camera.

"We filmed feeding it once you were stable. My friend was able to avoid a fate similar to yours by moving to one side."

"It spit at me." Kate repeated, arching a brow.

Magnus nodded as she set the computer down and gestured for Kate to lie back. She began to carefully examine the bandages with steady fingers.

"They're remarkable creatures. They ingest rocks to grind up their food much as a bird would," Magnus explained. She carefully peeled away the bandage, revealing perhaps half a dozen very neat stitches over Kate's wounds, a trio of marks that looked like very small caliber bullet holes. Kate's twisting had pulled them a little but the sutures were intact. The skin was bruised under the yellow antiseptic wash.

"The ancient Romans," Magnus continued, "discovered that they are quite good at hunting down diamonds." She smoothed the bandage down again with a soft murmur when Kate couldn't quite stifle the hiss.

Magnus plucked a small vial from a nearby stand and offered the container to Kate with a grin. "You were shot with these."

Wary of the sparkle in Magnus' eyes, Kate took the container. Three little crystalline stones rattled at the bottom, mostly translucent and smooth. "It shot me with stones?"

"Diamonds detective. Diamonds."

* * *

By the time Kate was a hundred and sixty, if she somehow discovered a way to live that long, she wanted an office like Helen Magnus'. She liked the quirky nick-knacks collected across many decades, the timeless elegance of the furniture with the sleek new technology, and the enduring warmth of the stone fireplace. The view was pretty damn nice too. Sunlight bounced off the water and the new buildings on the far side of the river.

Castle was downstairs having lunch with a lizard-man, a werewolf, Bigfoot, and Nikola Tesla. His unbridled glee at the truth of this place matched the cheery sunlight, and had doubled when he'd discovered that _Bigfoot_ was a fan. Books had been signed. Kate smiled, remembering the animated conversation she'd just walked away from moments before. Castle the storyteller, holding court with living legends. Focusing on him was easy too. It took her mind off the lead she'd been following in her Mother's case.

Magnus settled across from her, attired in a smart power-suit that somehow managed to be elegant and feminine as well. Kate could pull off outfits like that, but it usually took more effort than was really needed down at the precinct on a regular basis. Usually they were suits for court or with the top brass, when everyone needed to be at their most professionally impressive. Plus a skirt like Magnus was wearing wasn't conducive to running around New York City. After about an hour she usually just wanted to ditch it all, grab the closest pair of comfy jeans and head back to work. Magnus seemed to have the art of the power suit down to a science.

Her hosts legs were also easier to focus on than her personal troubles. Kate caught herself staring. Magnus had also noticed and arched an eyebrow, inviting comment.

Kate shrugged. "Was just thinking that I wouldn't mind having legs like when when I'm a hundred and sixty."

Magnus laughed and swung one leg out to examine it. "Yoga and Kickboxing."

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "I added kick boxing after Ashley- After Ashley took it up." Magnus's smile faltered and Kate knew Ashley was both important and had died. "My daughter," she clarified.

"I'm sorry." She was. She meant it.

Magnus accepted this with a nod. "Would you feel up to a proper tour?"

Kate smiled. "You know, I think I would." Carefully, she got to her feet and followed Magnus.

* * *

One of the men involved in her mother's murder had become involved in the black market sale of what Helen called "Red-listed abnormals". Kate had worked homicide for years, but she knew her way around a drug bust.

The deal had gone down, and this time the situation hadn't gone south. But little the target knew was useful. Apparently letting small bugs burrow into your brain stem for a high didn't help with long term memory. The man behind the operation didn't know anything about her mother's case.

Still, even if it wasn't her area, Kate felt a bit better knowing there was one less drug lord on the streets and the psychopath who'd helped kill her mother was headed for prison. Not much better, but a bit. She was tired but her side ached. Going into the bust hadn't been medically advised, but Magnus had studied her with those too-old eyes and had finally relented.

"You should get some sleep," Magnus said from the doorway.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to invade your office," Kate said, turning from the window. The light from the skyscrapers reflected off the water, drowning out the stars. She sighed. "Painkillers haven't kicked in yet. Hurts too much to get any decent sleep."

Magnus nodded. "I'm afraid I can't give you more of the pain at the moment, but if you don't mind the sound of paperwork, you're quite welcome to the couch."

The indicated couch was leather and looked like heaven. Kate gave Magnus a weary smile and sank gratefully into the sofa. Kate studied the ceiling, it was old and ornate, a relic of when this had been a monastery, a sanctuary of a different sort.

"You've got an interesting operation here," Kate mused, eyes following one support to the wall. It was filled with degrees and portraits. Magnus sat with a younger woman, perhaps Alexis' age, in one. Kate assumed this was her daughter and her heart went out to the woman. Kate knew Castle was sympathetic, devoted as he was to Alexis. According to Dr. Zimmerman, the loss was still new.

She could hear the smile in Magnus' voice. "It's not typical for some, but we get by," she said. Paper shifted on the desk and Kate heard a computer chime as it came to life.

It reminded Kate of the controlled chaos of the Precinct, and she closed her eyes, smiling faintly. "Thank you for letting us crash here."

"Not a problem at all. You were quite a bit of help for us. Will is a detective for sorts, but his skills aren't precisely in your area."

"I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but I get by," Kate said. The drugs were kicking in finally.

Helen chuckled. "Few are, but I believe he'd have approved of your methods."

Kate opened an eye. "You're not speaking metaphorically, are you."

Helen looked up from her paperwork with a mischievous grin that made her look about twenty years younger than her physical age. "I'm afraid not. James Watson was a very old and very dear friend of mine."

"Watson was the real Holmes?"

Helen looked up, looked back at her papers, then set them aside and leaned her elbows on the desk. "He was."

"Castle is going to die when he hears. I want to know everything."

Helen grinned.

* * *

  
Morning came and with it, an envious Castle who'd promptly badgered Helen into telling him everything about Sherlock Holmes. A driver arrived to take them to the airport and Mr. Foss, and Castle put their bags in the trunk.

"Take one of these in an hour," Helen said, pressing a vial of pills into Kate's hand. "You should be fine through your flight, but if you need to take another for the pain, you may." She closed Kate's fingers over the vial and her fingers lingered a fraction of a second over Kate's.

Kate smiled. "Thank you." There was also a card in her hand.

Helen nodded. "Should you need something," she said, nodding at the card. "The New York Sanctuary has been notified of your cellular numbers, you and Mr. Castle both. Hopefully you'll never need our expertise on a case."

Kate smiled. "Thank you." She handed Helen her official business card. "And here's my contact information at the Precint. Hopefully you'll never need my expertise on a case." It was somewhat silly since the woman already had her number, but Kate thought she'd understand anyway. "Give us a call if you're in town."

Magnus smiled, the cheeky sparkle in her eye. "I look forward to renewing our acquaintance, Detective."

  



End file.
